Automatic train control.



W. K. HOWE.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL.

APPL

ICATION FILED JAN l5. I913 Patented Oct. 22, 1918.

' WITNESSES:

- l/Vl/E/VTOR 77W M BY X W ATTORNEY I I l .s i i S1 1 ATE @FFQ.

WIN'II-IROP K. HOWE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OF GATES, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (lot. 22, 1918.

Application filed January 15, 1915. Serial No. 2,385.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Wnyrnnor K. Howe, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Rochester, in the county of Monroe'and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Train Controls, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the automatic control of movable vehicles, and more es pecially of railway vehicles.

' The primary object of this invention is the provision of a means positioned on a movable vehicle adapted for co-action with a means located along the trackway for governing in some way the movement of the vehicle, which means are so constructed and arranged that when the vehicle is moving in a normal direction of traffic on the trackway the co-action of the means on the vehicle and the means along the trackwaywill be effective to control the movement of the vehicle, but when the vehicle is moving in a direction opposite to the normal direction of traffic, the means on the vehicle and the means alongthe trackway when they co-act, will not be effective to control the movement of the vehicle.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description of the invention progresses, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, wherein has been illustrated a preferred physical embodiment of the invention by a. single figure which is a schematic illustration of a movable vehicle positioned on a railway track with applicants invention applied thereto. e

Numeral 1 designates one rail of a trackway of which 2 designates the other rail.

3 designates a ramp positioned upon the side ofthe track rail 2.

ie-designates a source of suitable electrical energy, herein shown as a battery, which is connected by means of the wire 5 to the track rail 2, and by means of the wire 6 to the pivot point of a switch arm 7, which switch arm 7 in one position is adapted to contact with the wire 8, which in turn is connected. to the ramp 3. I

The rails ofthe railway track support a truck comprising wheels 9, 10, 11 and 12 with the axles 13 and 14 and journal boxes, as 15 and 16, connected by the side bar 17 The side bar 17 by means of the projecting member 18, supports and guides ahorizontally rotatable and vertically movable shoe, which comprises a vertical member 19 having a collar 20 rigidly attached thereto by means of which, in connection with the spring 21, it is caused normally to move to its downward limit,which is fixed by the position of the shoulder 22 of the upper enlarged portion 23. The lower end of the member 19 has rigidly attached thereto the cross bar 24, whichis adapted to contact with and to be rotated by frictional contact with ramp 3.

The upper enlarged portion 23 of member 19 when at the limit of its downward movement rests just below the member and at that time the member 25, due to its resiliency, is in contact with the member 26, but when the member 24 is raised upwardly, as shown, by contact with a ramp, as 3, then the enlarged portion 23 is also raised upwardly and forces member 25 out of contact with the member 26.

If the normal direction of tra fiie is in the direction of the arrow A, and the car is moving in that direction, then when the shoe 24 contacts with ramp 3 the frictional resistance will act upon the shoe 24 in the direc tion of the arrow 6, and, consequently, the shoe 24 will abut against the rigid stop 27 fastened to the journal box 15. If the car bearing the shoe 24 is moving in a direction opposite to the normal direction, that is, in a direction opposite to the arrow A, then the frictional resistance between the shoe 24 and the ramp 3 will cause the shoe 24 to move in the direction of the arrow 0, and the shoe, together with member 19, will rotateon a vertical axis and cause the inner end of the member 24 to contact with spring 28 and cause it to come in contact with spring 29.

If the car shown in the figure approaches moving in the normal. direction of traffic and conta ets the ramp 3 when the relay 31,carried by the car, is energized, and at that time the switch arm 7 is closed, there will be no change in the position of the armatures controlled by relay 31, but if at that time the shoe 24 contacts with the ramp 3 the relays 30 and .31 are both de'c'nergized, but the switch arm '7 is closed, then a pick-up circuit for the relay 30 will be closed as follows: one

terminal of battery *1, wire 6, switch arm 7,

axle 13, wheel 11, rail 2 and wire 5 to the other terminal of the battery l. The can rent flowing in the above traced path will cause an energization of relay 30 and so cause its armature 30 to be raised so that a circuit is formed through the relay 31 as follows: one terminal of battery 34:, wires 35 and 36, armature 30 wires 37 and 38, relay 31 and wire 39 to the other terminal of the battery 3+l-. The relay 31 having been energized, it will remain energized after the member 24: passes off from the ramp 3, because before the member 24 actually passes off from the end of the ramp the members 25 and 26 will have come into contact, and, therefore, a circuit will be formed as follows: one terminal of battery 34:, wires 35 and 4:0, armature 31. wires ll. and 1 2, member 25, member 26, wires l3, ti and 3S, relay 31 and wire 39 to the other terminal of the battery 3i. It should be observed that the lastabove traced circuit could not have been form ed unless the relay 31 had been initially energized by an energization of relay 30, so that its armature 31 was in the upper position as shown.

The relay 31 has also an armature'31 which may be employed in any desired or appropriate manner to control the movement of the train, as by a circuit formed through a brake controlling magnet 15, as is well un derstood by those skilled in the art, and is so common and well known as to need no further description.

hen trains move in a direction opposite to the normal direction of tra'ffic, it is not desired to deenergize the relay 3l,because by so doing the train would be unable to proceed, and it is well known that the means ordinarily used to energize the ramp 3 would probably be such that the ramp 3 would be deenergized at the time the member 2 L co11- tacted therewith if the train were actually moving in a direction opposite to the normal direction of tl'aflic. In such a case an plicant has provided. a means to prevent the de'e'nergization of the relay 31, and so prevent the control of the train by the armature 31 when the member 24 contacts with a ramp, as 3, whether or not the ramp is encrgized. Applicant attains this result by making use of the movement hereinbeforo de scribed 01 the member 24 when it contacts with a ramp, when moving opposite to the normal direction of trai'lic, to close a contact, between members 28 and 29. If the relay 31 is energized when the member 24: contacts, the ramp 3 when moving in a direction opposite to the normal direction of tra'tlic, then it will remain energized, because the contact of member 24. with the ramp 3 will cause the member 24: to rotate in a horizontal plane in the direction of the arrow 0, and therefore cause its inner end to contact with spring 28, and so cause spring 28 to contact with spring 29 so that a circuit will be formed whichwill retain the energization of magnet 31, as follows: one terminal of the battery 34, wires 35 and 40, armature 31 wires 41. and 46, spring 29, spring 28, wires 47, 44: and Y38, relay 31 and wire 39 to the other terminal of the battery 34. Current flowing in the above, traced path-will maintain the energization of relay 31, and so will maintain armature 31 in the upper position, as shown, so that it will not. control in any way th'emovement of the train.

Although I have particularly described the construction of one physical embodiment of my invention, and explained the operation and principle thereof; nevertheless, I desire to have it understood that the form selected is merely illustrative, but does not exhaust the possible physical embodiments of the idea of means underlying my invention.

that I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent or the United States, is:

1. In an automatic train control system, in combination; a trackway; a vehicle movable upon said trackway; a ramp positioned along side of the trackway; ,a pivoted vertically movable metallic shoe carried by the vehicle positioned to contact with the said ramp and be raised vertically and caused to move pivotally; a relay positioned on the movable vehicle; a circuit for said relay including, a source of current alongside of the trackway one side of which is connected to a rail of the trackway and the other side of which is connected to the ramp, the remainder of the circuit being formed by the connection of one terminal of the relay with a metallic part of the vehicle in metallic contact with a wheel of the vehicle and by the connection of the other terminal of the relay with the metallic shoe; a second relay; a circuit for said second relay including a source of current closed by the energization of the first relay; a second circuit for said second relay, said circuit including a source of current, an armature of the secondrelay and a normally closed circuit controller operable to open position by a vertically upward movement of said shoe; a third circuit for said relay including a source of current,an armature of the second relay and a normally open circuit controller operated to closed position by a pivotal movement of said shoe in one direct on; and means controlled by said second relay for controlling the movable vehicle.

2. In an automatic train control system, in combination: a trackway having a movable vehicle thereon; a ramp positioned on thetrackway; a shoe carried by the vehicle; a relay on the movable vehicle; means for energizing said relay by the contact of said ramp and said shoe; a second relay on the movable vehicle; means governed by said first relay for energizing said second relay; means for retaining said second relay energized, including a normally closed circuit controller operable to open position by the contact of said shoe with said ramp; a shunt about said normally closed circuit controllerincluding another normally open circuit controller moved to closedposition by the contact of said shoe with said ramp when moving in one direction only; and means governed by said second relay for controlling the movable vehicle.

3. I11 an automatic train control system, in combination: a trackway having a movable vehicle thereon; a shoe carried by said vehicle capable of vertical and pivotal movement; a ramp on said trackway for raising and rotating said shoe; a normally closed circuit controller opened by raising said shoe; a normally open circuit controller closed by a rotation of said shoe in one direction only; a normally open shunt for the normally closed circuit controller governed by the normally open circuit controller; and train control apparatus on the vehicle governed jointly by said circuit controllers.

41;. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel on said track; a contact shoe supported on said vehicle'to move in either of two angularly disposed planes;

automatic traflic protecting apparatus carried by the vehicle; a normally closed circuit for maintaining said apparatus inactive; a circuit controller included in said normally closed circuit and governed by said shoe, said circuit controller being opened by the movement of said shoe from its normal position in one of the planes of its movement; a normally open shunt for said circuit c011- troller; means for closing said shunt governed by said shoe and operated when said shoeis moved in one direction only in the other of said planes of its movement; and devices located along said track for actuating said shoe. I i

5. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroadtrack; contact 'ails located at intervals along said track; means for establishing a partial circuit including a source of current between each contact rail and a track rail; a vehicle adapted to travel alongsaid track; a shoe movably mounted on said vehicle and arranged to engage said contact rails, said shoe being capable of being displaced by engagement with said contact rails in directions lengthwise and transversely of the track; automatic traffic protective apparatus carried by said vehicle; a relay for governing said apparatus; a partial circuit for controlling said relay terminating at the wheels of said vehicle and at said shoe; a normally closed circuit for controlling said relay; a circuit controller included in said normally closed circuit and governed by said shoe, said circuit controller being opened when said shoe is moved in the direction transversely of the track; a normally open shunt for said circuit controller; and a second circuit con troller for closing said shunt, said second circuit controller being governed by said shoe and being closed when said shoe is moved in one direction only lengthwise of said track,

6. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroad track; contact rails located at intervals along said track; a vehicle adapted to travel on said track; a shoe carried by said vehicle and arranged to engage said contact rails, said shoe being capable of displacement in directions lengthwise and transversely of said track, said shoe being displaced transversely of said track by engagement with one of said contact rails irrespective of the direction in which the vehicle is traveling, and being displaced lengthwise of said track in one direction or the other depending on the direction in which the vehicle is traveling; a circuit controller operated by the movement of said shoe transversel of said track; another circuit controller operated by the movement of said shoe in one direction only lengthwise of said track; and automatic trafiic protecting mechanism carried by saidvehicle and governed by said'circuit controllers.

7. In a system for protecting railway traffie, in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel along said track; automatic traific protecting apparatus carried by said vehicle; a normally closed circuit for rendering said apparatus inefi'ective; devices in cooperative relation carried by said vehicle and located at intervals along said track for opening said normally closed circuit when said vehicle is traveling in either direction over the) track; and means controlled by said devices and responsive to the direction of movement of the vehicle for malntaming sa1d apparatus 111 its lneii'ective condition independently. of the break closed circuit by said said vehicle and controlled by the coop- 1v eration of said contact shoe and said contact rail; and means operated by the movement of said contact shoe in one direction substantially lengthwise of said track for nullifying the controlling effect produced by the cooperation of said contact shoe and said contact rail upon said apparatus. V

9. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel on said track; contact rails located at intervals along said track; a shoe movably mounted on said vehicle and arranged to engage said contact rails; circuit controllers operated by said shoe; one of said circuit controllers being actuated when said shoe engages one of said contact rails irrespective of the direction in which said vehicle is traveling at the time; the other of said circuit controllers being actuated by said shoe only when said vehicle is traveling in one direction; and traffic protecting apparatus on the vehicle controlled separately in opposite ways by said circuit controllers.

10. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroad track; contact rails located at intervals along said track; a vehicle adapted to travel along said track; a shoe mounted 011 said vehicle to move vertically and horizontally; a circuit controller operated by the vertical movement of said shoe; another circuit controller operated by the horizontal movement of said shoe in one direction only; and means for controlling the movement of said vehicle governed by said circuit controllers.

11. In a system for protecting railway traflic, in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel along said track; a device carried by said vehicle and mounted to move vertically or horizontally; automatic train control apparatus carried by said vehicle; means operated by the vertical movement of said device for governing said train control apparatus; means operated by a horizontal movement of said device in one direction only for rendering said first means ineffective to control said apparatus; and means located at intervals along said track for operating said device vertically irrespective of the direction of movement of the vehicle and horizontally in one direction or the other depending on the direction of movement of the vehicle.

12. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel along said track; a device carried by said vehicle and mounted to move horizontally or vertically; a circuit governed selectively in accordance with the direction of the horizontal movement of said device; another circuit governed by the vertical movement of said device in either direction; trafiic protecting apparatus on said vehicle governed by said circuits; and means located along said track at intervals for actuating said device.

13. In a system for protecting railway traffic in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel. along said track;

a movable member carried by said vehicle and adapted to move lengthwise thereof; de vices located at intervals along the track for actuating said member and adapted to impose a substantially horizontal force on the member tending to retard it relative to the movement of the vehicle, thereby tending to move it horizontally in one direction or the other depending upon the direction of movement of the vehicle over the track; a normally open circuit controller closed by the movement of said member in one direction; and automatic train control apparatus on the vehicle adapted to be maintained in its inactive condition when said circuit controller is closed.

14. I11 a system for protecting railway traffic; in combination: a railroad track; a vehicle adapted to travel over said railroad track; automatic traflic protecting apparatus carried by the vehicle and having a tendency to assume its active condition; means for normally maintaining said apparatus inactive; devices located at intervals along said trackway and devices carried by the vehicle in cooperative relation with the devices along the track for tending to render said first mentioned means ineffective when the vehicle moves in either direction over the track; and means controlled bysaid cooperative devices and responsive to the direction of movement of the vehicle for nullifying the effect of said cooperating devices when the vehicle travels opposite to the normal direction of traffic.

15. In a system for protecting railway traffic, means for establishing communication between a vehicle and its trackway com prising a member on the vehicle movable substantially lengthwise thereof, a normally open circuit controller on the vehicle closed by the movement of said member in one direction only, impulse devices along the track adapted to cooperate with said member and cause movement thereof in the direction opposite to thedirection of movement of the vehicle, and traflicprotecting means adapted to be maintained inactive by the closing of said circuit controller.

16. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: traffic protecting apparatus on a railway vehicle having a tendency to assume its active condition; 00 operating impulse devices along the track and on the vehicle tending to cause said apparatus to assume its active condition at control points along the track; and means controlled by said impulse devices and rendered effective by the movement of the vehicle past the trackway impulse devices in a direction opposite to the normal direction of traflic for maintaining said apparatus in its inactive condition independently of the cooperation of the trackway impulse devices audthe impulse devices on the vehicle.

17. In a system for protecting railway trafiic, in combination: a vehicle and a track therefor; a normally open circuit controller and a normally closed circuit con troller on the vehicle; a movable member on the vehicle adapted to be actuated by impulse devices along the track for opening both of said circuit controllers only when the vehicle travels in one direction over the track; and traiiic protecting apparatus on the vehicle normally tending to assume an active controlling condition and adapted to be maintained in its inactive condition by the closing of either of said circuit control lers.

18. In a system for protecting railway traffic, in combination: a vehicle and a track therefor; a contact shoe carried by the vehicle and movable in either of two angularly disposed planes; circuit controlling devices operated separately by the different movements of said shoe; and means along the track for causing movement of said shoe in one of the'planes of its movement in accordance with the direction in which the vehicle is traveling. V

19. In a system of automatic train control, in combination: a vehicle; train control apparatus on the vehicle; cooperating impulse devices on the vehicle and at control points along the track tending to cause operation of said apparatus at said control points irrespective of the direction of movement of the vehicle; and means associated with the impulse device on the vehicle and adapted to be influenced by the trackway impulse devices only when the vehicle travels opposite to the normal direction of travel to prevent operation of the train control apparatus.

20. In a system of automatic train control, in combination: a vehicle; a train control apparatus on the vehicle; cooperating impulse devices on the vehicle and at control points along the track tending to cause operation of said apparatus at said control points irrespective of the direction of movement of the vehicle; a movable member on the vehicle adapted to be moved lengthwise thereof under the influence of the trackway impulse devices when the vehicle travels opposite to the normal direction of traiiic; and means controlled by said member for preventing operation of the train control apparatus.

WINTHROP K. HOWE. lVitnesses SOPHIE LEVIN, GEORGE T. WHITNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

